The University of Pennsylvania's efforts to remove diversity, equity and inclusion practices in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump was an act of "over-compliance," higher education leaders said Friday.
Philadelphia City Council and Pennsylvania General Assembly members, collegiate professors, campus leaders and a representative from National Association of Diversity Officers took part in a public hearing on DEI efforts at higher education institutions in Philadelphia. Speakers largely referenced ongoing issues at Penn, which has been at the center of multiple executive orders from the Trump administration.
On Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order requiring universities receiving federal funding to end DEI programming that could violate federal civil rights laws. The following month, Penn scrubbed diversity mentions and initiatives from its website and equal opportunity policies to comply.
However, according to Stacy Hawkins, a professor at Rutgers Law School, DEI efforts at schools largely remain lawful despite the executive order and guidance from the Department of Education.
"That's why we called Penn's actions over-compliance. It was never required for them to scrub DEI from all their policies, programs and position titles," Hawkins said during the hearing. "That was simply a decision they took on their own accord."
A representative from Penn was not present Friday, although the university did provide a statement by Jeffrey Cooper, the university's vice president for government and community affairs, defending the school's position. In it, he said Penn has always upheld the law, including in the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that overturned affirmative action in admissions.
"Our operations may evolve depending on how courts rule, how agencies implement new policies and how future orders and legislation are enacted," Cooper wrote. "We remain firmly committed to outreach opportunity and access to a Penn education."
Those testifying at the hearing said Penn's decision to remove DEI efforts signal to Black and Brown students that their access to and experience at the university is no longer a "paramount concern," and that the move has implications for the larger higher education ecosystem.
"They do not lack the resources to defend their rights, to continue to engage in both lawful and critical conduct, but by preemptively complying, they actually make it harder for less well-resourced institutions to fight back," said Jonathan Fiengold, an associate professor at Boston University School of Law.
State Rep. Rick Krajewski (D-Philadelphia), noted that Penn has an endowment of $22 billion, which is more than four times the size of the budget for the School District of Philadelphia.
"When you have that level of wealth and privilege, you have a responsibility to do something," Krajewski said. "But when the University of Pennsylvania does not and when these universities do not stand up, what they are saying is that their investments are more important than their students."
A different executive order signed on Feb. 5 paused $125 million in federal funding from Penn for permitting transgender athletes to compete in sporting events. On April 28, the Department of Education said that the university violated Title IX for allowing Lia Thomas, who graduated in 2022, to compete on the women's NCAA swimming and diving team during the 2021-2022 school year. In March, a statement from Penn President J. Larry Jameson said the school was in full compliance with NCAA rules and Title IX policies in place at the time of the competition.
"We expect to continue to engage with (the Office for Civil Rights), vigorously defending our position," Penn President J. Larry Jameson wrote.
